001[Music] good evening everyone we are so glad you could be here with us tonight both in person and virtually we understand this is not the ideal way to conduct this forum but we greatly appreciate all of your time and patience our names are jessica brashear and nicole quenzler and we will be your moderators for tonight we along with many of the other students who helped put this event on are seniors in the ib program at cactus shadows high school tonight we will be focusing on six candidates who are running for positions on the cave creek unified school district governing board our six candidates who are running for three available positions are mr jeff fortney mr jim rich miss terry thatcher miss brianna walker miss trinity wilson and miss janet busby who unfortunately could not be
002here tonight so her responses will be read by ms geiselhofer we are hoping this forum will give you all insight on each of the candidates values and goals for making cave creek unified school district the best it can be hi everyone my name is nicole quenzler before beginning each candidate will give a two-minute opening statement following this each candidate will be answering eight questions that we have prepared they will have 90 seconds to respond to the question if a candidate goes over the allotted time with their response they will be cut off the questions will be answered in alphabetical order of the candidate's last names but we will switch who begins for each question therefore everyone will be the first response for at least one question once all the questions have been answered each candidate
003has the opportunity to provide a 90-second closing statement with their own personal remarks again we would like to thank all of you for being here tonight candidates volunteers and spectators and we hope that this forum is informative and helpful now we will begin to begin each candidate will read their opening statement ms geiselhoefer representing candidate busby you may begin thank you to the ib students and to all who help to coordinate tonight's event this is truly a special community and one which i feel a deep connection and commitment i believe that every student in the cave creek school district deserves and is entitled to an outstanding education it is this unwavering belief and commitment to excellence that drives my dedication to the ccusd community together we are responsible for ensuring our students are equipped with
004the tools and resources to lead us successfully into the future this can be done through embracing social cultural and contextual factors to create an optimal learning environment for our students i continue to commit to protecting and enhancing our learning environment through support through supporting research-based innovation for teaching and learning i will always go the extra mile in what i do as a currently seated board member i'm afforded extensive knowledge regarding our district i desire to use my cumulative board experience coupled with my experiences as a ccusd mom as a blueprint it is essential to improve upon the percentage of students in each school meeting or exceeding expectations in all core curricular areas additionally i support the social emotional components of our children that you will entrust me with another opportunity to serve as your advocate
005for an additional term on the ccusd school board thank you thank you mr fortney your response thank you all for being here tonight thanks to the ib students and their teachers for putting this event together it's an honor to be part of it my name is jeff fortny i'm a long time cave creek resident father grandfather and educator and i'm proud to be running for cave creek school board i've lived here since 1999 and one of the reasons that we moved here was because of the schools my son graduated from cactus shadows in 2003 and my grandson is going to be going to become a desert willow road runner soon i've been teaching special edge since starting right here in cave creek at desert willow and sonoran trails this is work that i still do
006but i do it at a different district now so that allows me to be able to run for this position and give back to the community that i've loved for 20 years cave creek is my home it's my future and it's my family's future that's my stake in this race back in 2004 i i started a second career i was a systems programmer with a desire to do something that was more important i was drawn to working with students with special needs and have not regretted that decision for a second i remember back on my first day on the job i was under the table with a third grader with autism helping him do his uh spelling test i was writing the answers on the top bottom of the board the desk that we were
007under that was my start today i was helping third and fourth graders working turn their tiny little sentences into big expansive sentences using adjectives and adverbs and personal experience and we did it virtually that's that's kind of how things have gone over the last 17 years i have taken whatever challenge has been thrown at me and sometimes in special ed that is a literal statement and i've done the best that i can for my students and my families this is the same persistence and tenacity that i will bring to the school board thank you thank you your response mr rich thank you students ladies and gentlemen i've been involved in the district for seven years now and i'm serving in my first term as a board member i want to take this take this time
008to clarify something there are three candidates running as a team against three other candidates myself being one of the quote unquote others because of this there's a narrative out there that the other three therefore our team as well i just want to assure you i'm simply running for re-election period i'm not running as a member of a team whomever you relax so be it i can work with any of them over the past four years i've been able to work with members of two different boards both those i agree and disagree with and there's a lot of relationship building that needs to occur in this district after this election between the board the incoming superintendent the teachers and the community people who know me know me to be respectful of others whether i agree with
009them or not is my goal to be a bridge between our various stakeholders in democracy in america the tocqueville stated that america's strength comes from our local community institutions it seems that now these institutions need us to strengthen them i promise you that will be my focus thank you ms thatcher your response good evening my name is terry thatcher first and foremost i want to thank the interla international baccalaureate program students and instructors for putting on this great event thank you to the ccosd governing board superintendent debbie burdick administrators teachers staff students and community for attending in person and online stream the ccosd governing board election is eloquence of how great our community is and has come together and will expand upon horizons that will forever define our future generations i am a 20-year resident
010of the hay creek school district with children in the district for 18 consecutive years and my youngest just entering seventh grade by the time my youngest graduates he it will be over a quarter of a century that i have had children attend csusd schools i feel that my experience in sales and marketing of corporate and government relocation brings about a diversity of one that can collectively communicate market negotiate and drive ccusd to be at the top of all school districts in the state i have always been able to contribute to agreements that benefit from both sides of the table as the daughter of a small business owner i experienced firsthand the importance of community relationships as a community members we must demand transparency establishing and identifying the best use of funds translates into transparency ensuring
011fiscal responsibility as it relates to teachers students classrooms and schools will enhance the academic growth of our students additionally this will create a pathway to provide the necessary resources to compensate teachers in fun classrooms adequately as well as acquire the essential instructional tools to support student engagement effectively tonight you will hear from all candidates this will be a great night a night of celebratory accomplishments and a night for our stakeholders to hear firsthand about each and every one i asked that tonight that you listen and hear from me firsthand i am a community member just as you are i am a parent just as you are and my family means the most importance to me as i'm sure to you i ask for your respect and consideration to hear me tonight and who i am
012thank you thank you ms walker your response hi my name is brianna walker and thank you to everybody that put this on i've been in this facility many times it's one of my favorites on campus and i'm not one that likes the stage so i'm used to being behind the scenes but this is a change and i know how much work goes into it so i appreciate that i am a mother of four children all of them attending schools in the district and i have three at black mountain and one at sonoran trails my husband and i have been doing life in cave creek for 14 years so we started coming to church out here and doing preschool out here and made it our home since 2011 and we just really love being here i'm
013an arizona native so i've been here my entire life and i've seen arizona change a lot i have a global business degree from asu with a marketing concentration and to me that really brings something different to the table as well um i've worked in the car industry i've worked in real estate and having being able to understand finance and budget i understand leasing and amortization i feel like that brings a lot when funding and budgets are on everybody's forefront right now currently i work in the i.t industry that industry is fast paced and it requires a lot of future proofing and planning as well i come from a family of educators although i'm not an educator myself my father-in-law had this as his career my brother-in-law and my sister are both educators in the state
014of arizona so i do bring that background as well and i think why teachers get into it is because they do it for the kids and that is my biggest stake for doing it i mean i have four kids in the district and i think that support is important from our community thank you thank you miss wilson your response thank you good evening first i'd like to thank jessica and nicole for inviting me to this governing board forum i would also like to say what a privilege it is to be sitting next to these five exceptional uh candidates my name is trinity wilson wecker my family and i are fairly new to the community we landed in cave creek along after a long and exhausting search excuse me after a long exhausting search for our
015new chapter and we couldn't be happier the reason it took us several years to find this little nugget of a town is that we had a long list of boxes to check off the most important box pertain to school districts after researching ccusd my husband and i were beyond excited the facilities were impeccable books and resources were available plethora of activities for kids and hands down two of the most monumental teachers i've ever come across if only we could clone these two rare specimens of educators every child in this district would get the same rare and special educational experience my two boys received last year i still have little ones wild boys eight and five years old by the time high school rolls around i want to see cactus shadows as one of arizona's top
016schools and ccusd as number one district in the state some of you might not think this is unattainable however i disagree with vision and determination all of our hopes and goals can be reached with our children succeed when our children succeed through education they will prosper on many levels when our district triumphs in comparison to neighboring districts our community also prospers the contagion effect our success has and our district as our district touches everyone in this room and more thank you great thank you now we will begin question number one why did you decide to run for the governing board and how would you use your board position to promote our district ms geiselhofer representing candidate busby your response this might be the easiest and my favorite question because the answer is simple i am
017a proud creaker and i consider serving on the board and representing all of you one of the greatest privileges the reality is the face of education is changing at a rapid pace with the norm or standard was five years ago is no longer adequate we do not seek to prepare today's students but rather to develop tomorrow's global leaders if re-elected as a member of the governing board i can use my knowledge and board experience to ensure that the children of our district are prepared to be leaders as both consumers and producers of knowledge it is my goal that the curriculum and the standards for our district continue to exceed our state and national standards we are a community that supports academic excellence ccusd can and should be the top district in the state and i
018hope to serve you to promote that goal for ccusd thank you candidate fortney your response i'm running because i've been an advocate for public education for years now i've been involved in making sure that taxpayer dollars that you're marked for public schools actually make it there i've been monitoring and promoting good pro-education legislation and candidates on both sides of the aisle and calling out bad moves by our legislature but being on the school board that's direct involvement that's why i wanted to do that and i strongly believe that educators need to be on school boards they need to be directly involved in the decisions that are being made that affect the classroom in the community the perspective and input of someone actually working in the classroom especially now is vital to a well-informed board how
019do i want to promote this district well i want to make sure that every stakeholder here realizes that this was the destination district for both teachers and families it was where people wanted to be it's still an amazing district but we are losing out on educators that want to have better pay and families that are looking for better programs and diversity i want to make sure our community understands the gem that we have here whether they have students or never had students here i am this is about promoting our district as the source of better home values and more importantly as a secure source for more powerful and robust cave creek future thank you candidate rich your response thank you i started as a classroom volunteer and then became involved in district level committees to
020include the 2015 bond committee that's when i first started thinking about the governing board i decided to run in 2016 because of the knowledge and experience i had gained and it was important to me to know what curriculum was being taught to my children in 2020 i'm running for reelection because as a cc usd parent i'm only halfway through my commitment to the district my family is going to stay here until my youngest child graduates one way or another i'm going to be as involved as i can be in the district whether i'm on the board or not but on the board is where i can make the greatest impact as i mentioned earlier relationships in the community need to be rebuilt and i have learned that i have the trust of this community many
021people contacted me earlier this year to make sure i was running again they know that agree or disagree with me they can trust that their voice will be heard and understood and they know i have the best interest of the students in mind thank you thank you candidate thatcher your response and why you decided to run for the governing board and how you promote our district thank you my decision to run for the governing board is that i am a community member a parent and a neighbor i am an advocate for teachers classified staff administrators and students that bring about a positive deposition of our schools our community and our future the essentials of promoting a district is being factual data driven and transparent we have the community and the functionality to bring all stakeholders
022to be involved and as a governing board member my position is to do that from 40th street east to rio verde from jomax north to tatum ranch cave creek and carefree we must engage our neighbors our community as we manage with our teachers or engage with our teachers schools and children because we are ccusd and we matter thank you canada walker your response this is probably the easiest question for me as well um having four children in the district definitely gives you an instant interest in your schools he is able to meet those um so that really getting involved in different things that they're involved in has been a reason for us to be here and for me to get unique that we have five elementary schools that all specialize in different programs that's unique
023our staff is unique we have some of the most award-winning teachers for how small our district is and that is something that i think instantly brings people to the community as well thank you candidate wilson your response thank you another story for a different time but after the battle to win our preschool teacher's job back i was approached about the possibility to run for a seat on the governing board in this upcoming election i'm a fair person i don't back down i fight for what's right and i would never stop fighting for my children or yours i help those who can't help themselves and it's difficult for me to sit back and watch when i have the time and adherence to make a difference as a board member i will nurture the line of communication
024between district and community ccusd should be obligated to full transparency with families and residents the feedback from locals has been a range of mixed emotion i would like to win the trust and respect of the community we serve initiate transparency and i'm confident that the community support will follow moving forward we need to innovative ideas from parents teachers students and community members all hands on deck approach to obtain our district schools it took a lot of blood sweat and tears to get here and it's not over yet there's a long road ahead of us yet here we all are willing to dedicate our lives to the cause i promise to put my heart and soul into the position thank you thank you we will now move on to question two what are your top three
025priorities or concerns that you would work on as a board member and we will begin with mr fortney you know first i would work on making sure that we have a stronger connection between the community and the district i work to make sure that the community understands the importance of school bonds and overrides if we want to be that destination district we have to make sure our district is receiving the funds that it needs it needs the resources to challenge our students and empower our teachers and their desire to properly educate cave creek students next i want to make sure that our teachers are treated as the respected professionals that they are they need to be heard and represented in what they need to need to teach their students they need a voice they need
026they need to have a voice heard by the school board members and what resources they require to do their jobs i would also advocate on finding ways to more appropriately pay our teachers and classified staff because if you want to be the destination district you have to make the journey worthwhile finally i want to make sure that the district is funded as effectively as possible we live in the district with the highest property values in the state that makes us a non-state aided district money collected by cave crete from cave creeks and taxpayers is immediately leaving cave creek for other districts that needs to change as someone who has been actively involved with monitoring and education legislation and interacting with legislatures i will work to get this done for the benefit of cave creek schools
027thank you mr rich thank you very simply i would say curriculum superintendent search and the covet issue and i would add the fourth would be budgeting which is covered on another question as i stated earlier the reason i ran in 2016 is because i wanted to be in a position to monitor and approve the curriculum and i like to ask parents and students to help with that issue as well the best way that the board can be made aware of curriculum issues is if we receive notice from you along with any documentation or evidence you might have of any complaints you might have second the superintendent search is currently ongoing and it will take up a lot of our attention our schedule of meetings is double what it was previously hopefully we can keep our
028timeline the superintendent we hire has big shoes to fill we need someone savvy and inspiring as well as experienced the process continues in a week or so when the board looks at the applications we've received i want to thank everyone in the community that filled out the survey the consultant that we're using said it was one of the largest responses he'd ever seen third the covid issue of course is a moving target and communication is the key right now hopefully we can make it through with minimal health issues all we can do is maintain what we've been doing and follow protocols and monitor the updates from the state and uh hopefully by the time we graduate the school year will be mask free thank you thank you miss thatcher your response yes my three top
029priorities and concerns that i would address as a board member is transparency we have many stakeholders that we must bring back to our community that have a voice no one should ever be left behind a child an adult a student a teacher a staff member an administrator and so on we walk beside one another we speak of our area with the utmost highest regard that we bring about transparency of our funding academics athletics arts vocational instruction clubs and retention of great teachers in addition clear vision is one that sets a vision and goals that measure the success of the district and superintendent using quali quantitative measures that show quality integrity and goals showing the greatness of our district and that we have measures in place to meet as such focus on the best of all
030of our students we have approximately 4 900 students within seven brick and mortar schools and one online school students need to be put first we need subject matter experts smes as they're called and our students are just that they are experts in their own account and we need to shine that glow as to how our students are because of how great our teachers are thank you thank you ms walker your response my three priorities are student retainment teacher retainment and special education student retainment being of where we live the majority of families in our district have the privilege of going to a local charter school or private school and this directly affects the budget our budget is set up based on how many kids we have within the district so in order to retain that
031and keep our budget growing we need to keep attracting people to stay within the district i know we've lost a lot of people this year with coven and then also the same goes with teachers we need to retain our teachers i hope that i could be a voice for the teachers and kind of build that bridge as well um as much as we all want our kids in school it doesn't work if we don't have teachers to teach our kids so um having a balance and being a voice for both the community and the kids and also our teachers is important to me lastly special education i have a child in special ed and navigating an iep is something in itself to me that is very important and just making sure that that percent of
032our community that their needs are met we have 12 uh 13 actually of our students fall in that category so that's a large number thank you thank you miss wilson your response i would like to push for an internal audit as we advance towards a new superintendent i think it's crucial we start fresh and have complete transparency of funds having an audit rendered will allow the district to revisit funding allocations and we would have a clear understanding of all financial transactions recruiting and retaining exceptional teachers is a must teachers have the ultimate influence over our students and educational process in hiring the best of the best teachers we need to cultivate a district that appeals to them let the teachers know the district is on their side pushing for higher salaries and incentives providing a
033support system encouraging communication and maintaining a safe work space so educators can do their job successfully enrolling students should be top priority throughout the district and faculty it's up to everyone to promote ccusd spread the word amongst the community to join the ccusd family and reassure parents they are making the smart choice enrolling in our district thank you thank you ms geiselhofer representative candidate busby my top three priorities are simple education innovation and collaboration first education we must attract and retain the best teachers to provide the best education for all students this means creating an inclusive learning environment where all students from all backgrounds at all levels feel welcomed and valued second is innovation more accurately disruptive innovation having the courage to think outside the box shake things up and try things that haven't been
034tried before based on research based on best practice and willing to do whatever it takes to meet the needs of our learners as well as our educators and third we must utilize the power of collaboration our stakeholders are valuable assets and cannot and should not be overlooked ultimately we all have a common goal we seek to provide outstanding education for the students in our schools and as your board member my number one priority is not just for me to project your voice but also to give you opportunities to use it for yourselves voting for me is voting for we thank you we will now move to question number three there are times when people share the same goals but do not agree on how to achieve them how would you handle situations if other board
035members or district administrators did not agree with you we will begin with candidate rich thank you my previous statements have touched on this i would be able to work with everyone the key is free exchange of ideas as long as everyone gets to express their ideas or concerns then it's up to them to articulate their positions effectively so that the board can then discuss and then we hold a vote once each member votes and if there's a majority that becomes the board's vote that's the final vote there have been some disagreements amongst board members recently and uh curiously for some reason uh there are reasoning it has not been articulated fully and i have an example this happened during the recent meeting two members of the board uh kennedy running for re-elections one of them
036wanted to table the search for a new superintendent it's one of the most important decisions we have to make and it could take up to a six-month process and yet there was no reasoning given for why these members would want to delay the process and presumably wait until next year i would like to hear some uh transparency to use a word that we're hearing a lot tonight uh just to hear the reasoning behind that so that the the board can uh more fully explore to the question thank you thank you candidate thatcher your response in life we face many challenges that we may not all agree on however we can collectively come together and be united to achieve goals the goals that one member may have could very well be the same goal that another
037member may have but it could be written differently based off of our collaboration of collective value of goals and how they are presented it is imperative to listen to one another ask questions effectively communicate how we take these goals and mold them into one of the betterments of our schools our teachers our families our students our community and our future is for ccusd we need to come together and be one no longer should we be divided we need to stand united thank you thank you candidate walker your response the first part's easy if we share the same goal we've already won as far as how to get there i think that just takes a lot of listening and humility getting people on the same page is usually the hardest task i hope i am very
038decisive i hope that as a board member everybody would show up and be prepared and that they have done their due diligence so they can vote i also um believe that if i've done my due diligence i'm going to stand firm on what i believe is right for the district and that i mean that is the beauty of having five members we might not always agree but we all bring something different to the table recently i've seen in board meetings that some candidates have chosen to abstain their vote it's your job as an elected i understand that it's unpaid and it's nonpartisan but it's you're elected to vote so the abstain the vote i have a really hard time with that and hopefully if elected we won't have anybody further abstaining their vote thank you
039thank you candidate wilson your response on how you would handle situations if other board members did not agree with you thank you as humans we will naturally disagree and have opposite opinions many of us in this room and sitting at this table have very different views whatever your views may be i would never attack you for your stance or personal choices not all individuals can handle themselves with poise that being said i can tell you how i wouldn't conduct myself for example it's disheartening that currently here at ccusd there are administrators that have been online adult bullying through social media myself and others sitting at this table in hopes of damaging our reputations it frightens me that these administrators feel the need to stoop solo and project such negativity in our district i want my
040children to grow up respecting others and their peers how else will our students learn unless we lead by example how will we accomplish our goals and move forward if we as adults can't find common ground to work together for the greater good i can see all sides of the cube i would be honored to have the opportunity to work beside my fellow board members and sift through our differences for the best possible outcome people have to remember this is about kids not us thank you thank you miss geiselhofer representing candy candidate busby your response thank you for the great question and i appreciate that you started the question by acknowledging a shared vision and mission that's powerful i believe that we all want what's best for our students and for our community we may vary
041on ways we believe are the best approach to get there but operating with that shared vision will help get through those harder times and those difficult conversations while everyone might not agree it's essential to listen and understand one another's point of view the objective is not to change someone's opinion completely instead to take a step back and to look at all points of view set aside personal bias and learn and grow together through multiple lenses and perspectives allowing for open dialogue will create a climate of brainstorming that can culminate in ideas that were not initially considered but hopefully result in a cohesive roadmap to our end goal i hope to contribute to creating and cultivating a safe and warm environment where open communication is valued nurtured and encouraged thank you candidate fortney your response well
042being a member of the school board is to understand that you are part of a collective voice this should not be an us against them environment this is all parties working together for the benefit of the students and the teachers in the community to that end i intend to make sure that i come prepared for every single board meeting no exceptions and no excuses next i will never disparage the superintendent or my fellow board members the reputation of the district is shown on how we work together with each other for the good of the district i will do my due diligence on my school board homework and research i will try to invest to express my views to the best of my ability and show that it is with what i believe is the best
043for the classroom in the community and i will stress that my position is coming from that of an educator currently working within the realm of the classroom if the board majority or superintendent disagrees with my position i will continue to work to gain their understanding and of of what my stance is and as best as possible present a united front then i would vote based on my work and respect and accept the board's final vote thank you we will now move on to question number four given the current fiscal challenges district schools face the reality of having to make serious budget cuts next year how would you prioritize limited funding for items such as class size teacher salaries school closures programs such as sports and the arts if you would eliminate one or more programs
044which would they be we will begin with mrs thatcher thank you funding is the backbone of our schools the need for a positive approach as to why there have been budget cuts in the past is essential this does not mean we are predicting the future that we will be having further budget cuts we need to look at the who what where when and how these cuts have happened and what can be done to fix this we cannot bandage cuts we need to pull back the books and look at the root cause of the matter of why this is happening in our district we have resources within the community that we as the neighbors can utilize they are in our backyards our teachers deserve better pay our student students deserve those teachers that have the resources
045and programs to educate no one program or school should be cut or closed all programs and schools are the building block for a student's future an effective board is held accountable that they are seeing that schools programs arts athletics etc are on track for positive impact for our community and stakeholders as a board member we have the fiduciary responsibility to our community and to ccusd thank you thank you we will now move on to ms walker thank you first of all i don't i would i don't see how we could eliminate anything i would eliminate nothing we operate very lane um we don't have assistant principals our ratio of students to counselors is very high our sports are all paid for by dues food and transportation should be break even as far as the arts
046this building is self-funding so i could not eliminate anything we have a problem if we do need to make cuts i keep hearing transparency with the budget the budget is public so you can read the whole 20 page budget and see where everything goes so i have a hard time with transparency with the budget since it is public public record in the district um so i would have a hard time cutting anything um that's it that's all i have to say about that thank you ms wilson your response as a business owner i know the difficulties of cutting costs to accurately answer these questions first we have to ask for the bottom line so we can understand our expenditures post audit where would the numbers leave us financially what will our budget look like next
047year how is the donation money being distributed last year the district acquired over a million dollars in private donations is it all accounted for without compiling all the data data we only have a fraction of all the overall picture for these reasons is necessary and urgent to implement transparency i also want to be clear that i stand strongly for not eliminating any programs quite the opposite i want to know what programs we are going to add that's how we are all going to enroll new students for our future we live in an affluent area these fiscal challenges should not exist and if these problems do exist then we need to get our budget under control furthermore don't the parents pay for most of the sports programs i'd like to see ccusd build a better sports
048grant sports program for girls and boys across the board and i want to reiterate no programs or schools should be compromised we need to start thinking differently thank you ms geiselhofer representing candidate busby thank you this question is easier addressed through an asset versus a deficit approach simply stated all students are important therefore so are all programs while the budget discussions are not always easy they are essential the tier method that the district has used in the past to make budget decisions has achieved what was intended the budget was reduced identified expenses have either been eliminated or reduced it's not all doom and gloom we need to find ways to redistribute funding not cut it but to allocate it in different ways to best support our teachers students community and programs when it comes to
049developing strategies for funding classrooms there needs to be more dialogue that involves teachers ptos administration and relevant shared stakeholders because the teachers are in the classroom they need to have input as to how the funding will impact the integrity of their classrooms the teachers voices need to be heard it's not about cutting programs it's about redistributing thank you mr fortney your response this is such an important question and one that was echoed during my interview with the cave creek education association to be able to sit here and say i've already decided what needs to be cut would be uh really putting a discount to this question it's not it's not taking the community into account the results of that superintendent survey reflected a community that wants to be heard and represented i've been calling for
050representation for all of ccusd stakeholders for over a year students who want a voice parents teachers and community members this would be a critical area for community feedback and input so to answer the question i would be hesitant to predetermine for a predetermined answer of what i would eliminate but i would definitely go on record as saying teacher salaries and class sizes are untouchable we already have are in difficult position because of those things and taking more drastic cuts there would be very detrimental to the district and the same for the arts and sports programs sometimes that is the reason that some kids come to schools so when the time comes i feel that it would be appropriate for different scenarios to be brought before the board for their for consideration and then i would
051vote on what would be best for the classroom in the community or at least what would be the least worst thanks thank you mr rich your response thank you uh just to clarify our our budget is a uh a matter of public record the school district is a public entity and uh so the budget is audited it is uh transparent i think the uh the issue is our district is in a really tough spot and it was mentioned earlier about the fact that our taxpayers pay not only for our school district but they pay a separate education tax that's taken by the state and redistributed to other school districts throughout the state and yet we do not have enough funding ourselves we've been able to make it through each year though for various reasons finding
052funding from various sources next year there's going to be a override considered and that's going to be entirely up to the voters it's going to be up to the administration a new superintendent the board to communicate the need for that to the taxpayers as far as making any cuts i would say that we would probably continue with what we have done in the past where each school in a district and each program makes their own cuts within their own budget therefore we don't have to actually cut an entire program or school just to tell you some things that are happening currently i know that there's no overtime authorized there's no spending outside of health and safety reasons other than anything that gets approved directly by the executive team thank you thank you we will now
053move to question number five arizona schools have been facing a teacher shortage over the past five years primarily because ccusd salaries are lower than neighboring districts now over 300 teachers statewide have retired or resigned due to covert 19. what would you do to try to attract and keep good teachers in our district we will now begin with candidate walker thank you i think stability in our leadership positions is huge right now we're going through a lot of change hiring a new superintendent so that will impact our teachers directly our principals that position seems to have a revolving door in our district except for a few schools um and so that makes it really hard i think when the leadership is there um then the teachers stay we need our community to also uplift and support
054these teachers they show up for our kids every day they end up spending more time with them during the day than we do as a parent and also there cannot be any teacher bashing whether it's on online or during governing board meetings um teachers do this for the kids it's obviously not for the pay and for them to lose their respect and lose that quality of life that they have to teach here um it's unacceptable our board needs to support the teachers and also allow for open communication so that we can be the voice for them and that we can hear their needs so that they and then can teach and support our children thank you thank you candidate wilson your response i believe if the district entertained more options in regards to the reopening
055of schools a healthy resolution could have been made for families and teachers for a safer campus environment for examples my kids currently go to a school where they're offered a hybrid solution for both teachers and students the administration was transparent at all times listened to the opinions of both faculty and parents regarding school safety and the hopes of expediting students back in the classroom through open communication the administration accommodated the needs of everyone involved the result was a victory the teachers and the students were all enthusiastic about being in school and back in class the integration and execution of on-campus learning was seamless and gave both teachers and families the assurance we were looking for it can be done as for teachers i already touched based on this subject in question two however i would
056like to add that our family had an unfortunate unfortunate situation happen last year with arson's preschool teacher the district attempted to force her out without due process after a 30-year career if there is a shortage shortage of teachers and we want to recruit more teachers why are we forcing the ones we already employ out as a board member i would make sure this never happens again i would hope that the faculty could reach out at any time to find support within the board members and myself thank you thank you ms geiselhofer representing candidate busby your response the teacher shortage in arizona is certainly real however i believe we have an inherent advantage here cave creek is a special town the people of cave creek young and old make it a desirable place to work learn
057and live we can best recruit and retain quality teachers by providing pay commensurate to the job and nurturing a working and learning environment that seeps with the same pride as we see in the rest of our community by listening to the voices of our students our parents our teachers and our staff members we can be responsive to their needs and create the culture that we're known for identifying ways to improve the teaching and learning environment is essential our greatest asset is our people and that includes all people utilizing shared stakeholders will support our students and all of us we see bumper stickers around town and t-shirts that boast mantras like cave creek strong and cave creek proud and creaker for life let our let's let our actions speak for themselves and create a teaching environment
058where candidates are lining up to be part of the special the specialness that we have here in cave creek i know we talk about it and we know our teachers are paid less than the surrounding districts but acknowledging the problem is not the same as solving the problem i believe including teacher compensation in the district's goals will demonstrate the district's commitment to recognizing and hiring competent highly qualified teachers and compensating them fairly thank you candidate fortney your response budgeting and fiscal responsibility are embedded in many of the questions here tonight and i've spent hours talking to people to better understand the funding situation here in ccusd i've talked to the superintendent i've talked to our state senator to get a clear picture of how things work here and the answer to this question does come
059down to funding getting every dollar that is earmarked for cave creek and using it to the best of our ability making sure our legislators are dedicated to funding public schools and making sure our residents are completely aware of the funding situation here in cave creek so that they are more receptive to making sure the district has what it takes to attract and retain teachers if we want to do this this has to be done by paying them better and that's both pay and affordable benefits giving them the resources that they need to be effective teachers and providing professional development so that to help them grow as teachers and again paying them so that they don't then leave back in 2012 i had to leave cc usd because various funds were cut year after year after
060year and my pay actually went down year after year after year and now good teachers that want to be here and are actively trying to get here can't because of the pay gap that is so significant between us and other districts so that has to change thank you candidate rich your response thank you teacher development the quality of our schools the desert foothills environment and our local community um it's this sense of belonging to this community the small district having won high school this is what attracted my family to this area it's the close-knit feel of the community these are all the attractions to teachers as far as retention that's a difficult question our teachers for one thing they need to be given the opportunity to be heard when decisions are being made on their
061behalf and as has been mentioned their pay is severely low it's below the state average it's a difficult thing for uh for our district to find funding for as i said really our biggest option is the mno override we're not going to get much funding from the state we're not going to get any help on the the issue of the of the two local taxes i mentioned earlier and i also just wanted to touch on something that was mentioned about a teacher leaving the district i don't know about the specific case that was referenced but i do know as we all know anytime there is a hr issue where an employee leaves an employer then those that are in and know for example in the district is going to be the superintendent the principal of
062the school the governing board we're forbidden from speaking about anything related to the matter specifically for the privacy of the employee involved thank you candidate thatcher your response thank you this question goes along with the previous two questions this is regarding budget cuts closures and salaries again we need to look at the who what where and how these things have happened in order to attract teachers we might need to build our own grow our own teachers model this can be done by scholarships utilizing businesses within our community to create and contribute to these scholarships the creation of pathways into profession develop teacher residencies all this has to be taken into account by the governing board superintendent administration that we have provided professional collaboration and shared decision making everyone has a voice everyone is to be
063heard we as a community must come together and ask questions lead by example and show what ccusd can and will do to be the best of the best thank you we will now move on to question number six what would you do to bring more money into the district and do you support the current invest in education act why or why not would you support override and bond elections why or why not and we will begin with candidate wilson bringing more money to the table is a priority i believe enrollment should be the target a demographer was hired and the results show well over a thousand students are not enrolled at ccusd by enhancing programs and offering a broader spectrum of after school programs i'm certain that students would be drawn to our district i
064do support invest for education and i absolutely want teachers to receive pay raises now more than ever i have a profound respect for educators i do however contemplate the impact the invest for ed act or should i say prop may have on the community will so will small businesses suffer will real estate values go down i am for any and all salary increases for our teachers i worry the domino effect will lead to bigger issues for the community also it is unclear who will be responsible for accurately distributing the funds clarify and tighten up the loose ends and invest for ed would be more widely accepted nonetheless we should never stop lobbying for our a uniformed pay scale for all districts i hope this is a concern that we resolve in the near future it
065doesn't matter whether or whether or not i support overrides or bonds the question is do the voters support the two efforts with a better public image for ccusd the bonds would get approved and if we had better fiscal responsibility we wouldn't need overrides thank you thank you um ms geiselhofer representing candidate busby your response thanks as a public school district we have only two sources of revenue state funding and overrides state funding is driven by the number of students enrolled and overrides are determined by our voters knowing that funding from the state correlates with the number of students enrolled working on ways to increase enrollment on each campus would be an opportunity to bring additional dollars in from the state build to the programs and the students will come and this goes back to the
066previous question about what should be cut nothing should be cut make this such an exciting place to be that has something for every student and values every learner they'll come and with them comes the funding another way to bring more money to the district includes fostering relationships with the business community to cultivate new opportunities this can bring resources to the classroom we must get creative with our current resources and how they can work in tandem with new approaches for example creating a dedicated grant writer position to explore and identify all possible avenues of resources for our classrooms and strategic district initiatives is another way to provide resources to our classrooms gaining resources through these means and others will only further promote achievement within the district and continue to keep ccusd among the top districts in
067the state thank you mr fortney your response yeah there's there's an awful lot in this question uh so if i go over a little bit please bear with me i think i could talk for 90 seconds on each one of these questions but this district has the highest property values in the state so because of that not only does not much money come from the state but we do pay that additional tax that immediately leaves our district to support the other districts that can't support themselves millions of dollars that we never see our current state senator has tried to pass a bill to get that to where we could actually be allowed to keep some of those funds but it's never been heard i'll advocate for this district to keep as much of our tax
068dollars as is possible as far as invest in ed yes i do support it the fact is that our legislature has not properly funded our our schools for over a decade this has to change now there's a lot of misinformation about invest in ed and there's way too much to talk about here but i would definitely uh tell you this it's popular it's statewide and it has a really good chance of passing so we as a board will have to be very proactive in how we respond to that and finally with our bonds and overrides if we want the teachers and the resources and the programs we have to get the community involved this includes people that don't vote or have usually voted no often because they are not invested in the district we need
069to promote ccusd and emphasize that doing more with less only goes so far if we want to have a powerful student body we have to be willing to do what it takes to get there thank you mr rich your response thank you this is the this is a big question and uh i feel like i might let down a lot of people with my answer on 208 i just want to say i understand why there's a lawsuit over over the issue i was confused by myself at first it sounded like it was just an increase in taxes of three percent wanting to find out that it doubles the income tax on those individuals that are taxed with it as much as i want to see our teachers get the pay they deserve i cannot be
070behind something that doubles someone's taxes to do so also the 200 000 a year that's not indexed to inflation and if this issue passes i'm worried about the future issues four years down the road is it going to be something that only taxes people that make over a hundred thousand and so on and so on i really wish that the legislature would have taken care of this issue out of budgeting if i had my wish and was able to affect change at the legislature i think that all teachers should be paid directly by the state they can be hired fired uh disciplined supervised by each school district but i think instead of paying them through each school district's budget it should be directly by the state thank you thank you ms thatcher your response thank
071you an investment in education is an investment of our teachers and students investing in education is not only the right thing to do it is smart economics investing in our future is what will grow our children as they grow and increase our gross domestic product these are the goods and services that will produce our future we must think where can the money go for the best outcome for our teachers and students we must analyze the current spending do we have outdated and inefficient operations we need to show that we do not have failures in our spending and are using funds as a smart investment and putting those funds into ventures that will be beneficial and excel the ccusd school district thank you ms walker your response um can i ask for clarity on what that
072mean you do would say yes for prop 208 i'm in for clarity on prop 208 yes for the invest in education act i am investing in our teachers and our students okay all right thank you i just find clarity on that um for the question did you guys want a yes or no if we're supporting that act can i get clarity on the question um just whether just why or why not okay what you prepared for okay thank you um as far as prop 208 and the invest in ed act i do support it um i am self-employed most of my close friends and family members all own small bit small businesses themselves and they will not be affected by this it is statewide so as far as how it will just affect our district
073or housing it will affect just anybody that makes over 250 000 as an individual and 500 000 um as a couple our sales tax is already the 11th highest in the nation and that has been popular let's just raise the sales tax we already have a very high sales tax our property taxes although they are 13th lowest in the nation we actually in cave creek we can't keep all of that like everybody has said so that funding is sent to other districts that are in need invest in ed will actually bring a lot of income into the school directly it does go directly towards teachers salaries pera's transportation all things that are important and hopefully with that extra funding we may not need bonds and overrides i do support them however and just because our
074state school facilities continues to not fund what they're supposed to um and our teachers haven't had a raise in over 20 years and although james like you said it does double the taxes of some individuals um right now even once they're doubled they probably don't pay the same amount as you and i combined as of right now so it sounds like a lot but doing the research and the numbers even that double is still far less than the average pace thank you thank you we will now move to question number seven what do you envision the 2020 to 2021 school year to look like as the cobin 19 continues what has gone well so far and what would you do differently if anything we will begin with ms geiselhoefer representing candidate busby what do i
075envision for the next eight months in full disclosure it's difficult to predict what's going to happen in the next eight days least of all the next eight weeks while i might not have all the answers for what the next eight months will bring i am confident that the 20 20 21 school year will look like a year filled with growth development and opportunity and while the details might not be clear the outcome is our students and our teachers our community will rise above it we will grow and we will learn we will try to bridge together the gap that widened from the learning loss from the previous spring the reality is that the covid pandemic has presented many challenges for our district but embedded within that crisis were many opportunities we've already identified alternative ways
076to deliver instruction it's crucial we continue to build upon the ingenuity and expertise of our educators and to expand opportunities and resources to optimize learning experiences for all students it is well documented it is well documented that all students do not learn the same way the current environment presents an opportunity to cultivate our remote learning to develop methods and modalities that can be used to help teach and reach different styles and levels of learners incorporating remote learning experiences into the traditional classroom can expand the breadth and depth of the learning experience as a district we can and should lead with courage and tenacity thank you candidate fortney your response the covid pandemic has influenced education like nothing else in our lifetime and we are literally trying to keep up and keep everyone engaged and learning
077in the process there's absolutely nothing ideal about this situation and the open don't open argument that's really torn communities into and put a ridiculous amount of pressure on everyone involved i think the district tried to do the best thing that they could by creating task forces that addressed academic logistic and social emotional aspects of the return to school and i think they did the best they could under terrible situations where everything was changing day to day and sometimes minute by minute with very little direction or leadership from those in power i think it will continue to be a very fluid situation for the rest of the year circumstances are going to change and it's going to require flexibility adaptability and understanding what would i have done differently well i would have wanted to make sure
078that every student had access to their curriculum via online it isn't ideal work but i'm doing it with special needs kids and it's works i think it might have been it might have helped the community a little bit better with the virtual learning if it had been something besides that uh online academy where not all the subjects or courses were were available but then i definitely would have given more weight to the 38 of the teachers respondents of district survey who said they were not willing to come back those responses have turned into directly at least a dozen certified teacher openings right here in our district right now thank you candidate rich your response thank you well i hope we can remove our masks soon i know we all want to get rid of them
079but my guess is we're going to be mandated to keep them on at least until after flu season i imagine that's what we're going to get from the state regarding any outbreaks we have protocols in place of course and i have to say i think it's been going better than i thought it would be which tells me that everyone's being diligent both students and staff so thank you for that also want to mention that uh i have submitted a future meeting agenda request to dig deeper into why the webcams in the classroom weren't considered i think we need a more complete review of the decision process that went into getting us back into online school and i think most people would have preferred that option and would have helped with any students that end up
080in quarantine so they could have followed along with their class thank you thank you candidate thatcher your response yesterday was our past today is today tomorrow is our future we need to be prepared we need to act together we need to be calm we lead by example with that being said we need an effective business continuity plan in place our children and our teachers need us now more than ever we must be prepared for what life hands us we have our schools open our children their teachers are happy to see one another in person this is a time that we come together we grow together we stand with one another and build upon our great district yes covet is out there and yes our kids are in thriving being back in the classroom and yes
081we will perspire and make this through but again a business continuity plan is essential and effective to make this happen thank you candidate walker your response i envision this year to be a year of change and flexibility and i still think as member rich said if we could have webcams already with children having to quarantine at home that is a 14 day quarantine period is a long time especially for a high school student to miss out on their classes so not having that in place for them is concerning as we continue through the year i do understand that kids coming from foster care i understand that arch a lot of children do need eyes on them it's the only teachers are the eyes many times and we've been going for a long time without their
082being eyes on kids on the other side we're also in a pandemic and how to navigate that is a difficult task i think our board did what they could assuming that our governor would have state mandates and operations of how to go back to school so that is difficult i myself would have prioritized special education those ratios are very small and yet as far as students to kids so we could have followed cdc guidelines with that yet they are 13 of our population i also would although class reopened that we have lost a lot of students because for the fact of not being comfortable going back i would have had liked to have seen um a virtual option be available for the entire year um i feel like if there was a survey done to
083parents as difficult it is i worked full time and had my daughter on her chromebook at the same time i think many of us would have seen for the common good so that the class size could stay low and maybe there would be teachers that would have wanted to go that route as well teach virtually um maybe one per grade so those were things i would have liked to have seen happen a little differently thank you and candidate wilson your response thank you it's been a tough year for everyone especially the children my advice is to expect the unexpected and be proactive instead of reactive i understand the difficulties facilitating the many moving parts to day and day operations of ccusd so that's why moving forward it's imperative we have plans in place and be
084ready in advance if circumstances change and be more prepared if covid19 continues or morphs we will need to be creative with school programs ensure families of ongoing scholastics and keep the wheels on the bus turning allowing the opportunity for families to be heard and given more choices enrolling their children in a safe school environment remember the hybrid solution i referred to earlier these are the types of choices we need to introduce to families if covid19 continues long term or worsens furthermore our teachers should also be given the opportunity to be heard about their own angst and frustrations we owe it to our teachers and students to think outside the box and collaborate collectively if we put our heads together issues encompassing covid19 can be resolved thank you thank you we will now move on to
085our final question according to some reports arizona is currently ranked 49th in the nation for quality of education how would you ensure that ccusd becomes competitive with the rest of the nation we will begin with candidate fortney well i am passionate about the need to support our schools i've been relentless in communicating that passion and the importance of improving education in arizona we have to bring this issue to our elected officials this is or at least it should be a real non-partisan issue education is the most important tool the society can give its citizens it's the great equalizer so i would be encouraging everyone to get involved starting right now legislators that will be representing us at the state capitol are going to be up for election in six weeks find out who they are
086and what they stand for and as far as public education funding send them emails or call them tell them that our current and national ranking is unacceptable and that's what they are going to do about it locally i will spread the word that this district has been doing more with less for far too long and encouraging everyone i talk to to do the same everyone needs us every one of us needs to get the message out that our tax dollars should be able to stay in cave creek if you're watching this forum then help by being an advocate for our schools spread the word that upcoming bonds and overrides must pass arizona is 13th lowest property taxes in the nation i'm paying a fraction of what i did back in illinois my child has graduated
087but i am still committed to supporting a school district that provides a solid workforce better home values and a brighter future for cave creek thank you candidate rich your response thank you i have a short answer first of all i think ccusd is already competitive with the rest of the state we are one of the the best school districts in the county keeping that status is going to depend a lot on the new superintendent he or she is going to be responsible for teacher development keeping open dialogue with the teachers keeping everything so that we can maintain that status as one of the school districts one of the best school districts in the county and in the state thank you thank you candidate thatcher your response thank you this question it goes back to my
088response of we need to grow our own teachers investing in our teachers and students to build upon our gross domestic product we have the resources we have the ability and we are competitive as it is by nature that we take it upon ourselves to have a voice come together as one live in the life and liberty that csusd matters this is our time these are our teachers our students our schools our family our community and our future we have the ability to grow and it starts at the district level to ensure that our governing board is serving all stakeholders and ensuring that our fiduciary responsibilities are held accountable at the as the district let's be the best of the best set standards create benchmarks for other districts and let's go for the stars thank you
089candidate walker your response ccusd is a sought after school district in our state we do rank very low nationally and to me a lot of that comes back to the funding i would agree that we need to continue to pass bonds and overrides and if invest in ed is passed hopefully that will give us the tools that we need so that our teachers can earn a better salary and resources can be brought into the classroom that are needed as well i also believe just locally that we have a great community and we have a creative community we have a lot of business owners that impact our community so that unity with our small school district and our community is huge so thank you candidate wilson your response thank you in many reports i referred to
090ccusd is already competitive in the nation we just need to continue to go above and beyond for example u.s news and world report we are ranked 33. still not the best but not 49th at any rate we have the tools and the capabilities to be exceptional we have to look at our own way of operating and how we can improve so before we worry about being one of the best districts in the nation we first need to be realistic and focus on being the best district for our community once accomplished then we can work on being the best district in our state ccusd can learn from other top arizona districts who have achieved such daunting goals by improving themselves and restructuring where needed for example vail school district who once was below average school district
091turned themselves around by collaborating to develop best business best practices to gain progress and growth look at them today vail school district worked together at all costs to accomplish their goals and now stands proud as an elite arizona school district we too can aim high and set an example for other school districts to do the same this triumph will solely depend on the alliance of faculty administrators happy and engaged students community support a fair and transparent leading superintendent and lastly a cooperative governing board thank you and now for miss geiselhofer representing candidate busby thank you as a board member i have limited impact and power on the state's ranking in the nation but i feel we have a wild investment in our district's capacity and ability and ranking and that's good news for us because
092we're already excelling in many areas as a district in order for us to maintain as a standout district we need to be innovative and creative with both our curriculum and our approaches to education reaching beyond the state standards is a must developing programs that invite students to collaborate create and innovate will assist in extending our students critical thinking skills building a nationally recognized district takes commitment from all stakeholders it also takes a renewed commitment to advance social justice addressing issues of access and equity and to help bridge the achievement gap being competitive at a national level means meeting the needs of the whole student at the local level thank you now we will conclude with the closing statements we will begin with ms geiselhoefer representing candidate busby well in full disclosure i feel a little
093remiss by not saying we're transparent tonight so she doesn't have it written here but i might find a way to say it thank you again for the ib students and for everyone in attendance for taking time out of their night to be here i take your participation seriously and i appreciate your time as a current governing board member i've demonstrated that i am an outside of the box thinker i'm a listener who wants to hear all sides of the issues before making a decision and above all i'm here for you i'm very proud of the achievements in our classroom and in our district and as we go forward i'm concerned especially for our teaching staff our teaching staff continues to reduce and without excellent teachers leading our classroom and educating our students to the levels
094that we as the community have come to expect it is going to get increasingly more difficult i will continue to be a relentless advocate for our teachers our students and our classrooms i believe that our community members are valuable resources that can enhance the learning experiences in our classrooms and i advocate for improving dialogue and collaboration within our community committing to a well-prioritized budget is critical this helps to promote trust through our community to continue on the path of success we need to maintain and nurture the district's relationship with the community at large i've appreciated the opportunity to reintroduce myself to you tonight i certainly hope that you have gained a better understanding of who i am and my passion regarding the future success of our district as you leave this forum it's my hope
095that you truly understand i am an advocate an advocate for our children and our teachers and our community i believe in public education and i'm proud to be part of this community to move our district forward our community deserves thoughtful representation and strong leadership as a school board member i will continue to work with the school and community stakeholders to strive for the finest educational outcomes for all thank you candidate fortney your response uh once again thanks everyone for participating in this very important local event it's a thrill to be running for the school board here in cave creek cave creek gave me my start teaching and that means the world to me back in 2004 my mentor teacher at desert willow became very ill right after school started after only four days as a
096student teacher i had to take over the class i had the option of going someplace else to get a different mentor teacher but i said absolutely not and with the support of the desert willow principal jana miller at the time i stayed and it was the most gratifying experience i've ever had professionally my first special education director k abrams told me very early that year the number one rule in special education is be flexible these are words i've lived by ever since as your school board member i will be prepared i will be invested i will listen to you and i will be an advocate for public schools both on the general and general level and ccosd and i will be flexible in these times flexibility is the strength that we all need to move
097forward i thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you if you have any questions about anything that's come up here please go to electforney.com i'll hear from you and i'll respond to you thank you thank you candidate rich your response thank you all for either coming out or watching wherever you are i want to thank the ib students especially you did a great job thank you i've lived in the district since 2013 my family is going to stay here for a good while we're not going anywhere we love it here we're dedicated to the district i've served one term on the board and i have to say it looks like the next four years we're going to have a lot to deal with but the bottom line is everything that the district
098has to deal with in the next term all comes down to as i've mentioned relationships new relationships we have to build and old ones that need to be repaired i feel that i have an obligation to run to be the the bridge to those relationships also i want to mention uh something on the teacher retention i know there are a lot of teachers that wanted to stay that simply couldn't afford to stay and there are a lot of teachers that are staying here now that are only staying here because they have a spouse that can support them financially that's an unfortunate situation i hope that going forward we can all work together to do something about that thank you thank you candidate thatcher your response thank you again jessica and nicole for putting together this
099wonderful event thank you to those that are in attendance in person and online streaming i believe a strong public school district is essential for the future not only for our children but for our community as a whole as i stated previously we are a small community of seven brick and mortar schools and one virtual school our enrollment is around 4 900 students right now with the appropriate measures in place we will chart the course for our district wide growth in academics athletics vocational training arts clubs and more as we navigate through these unpredecent times the ccusd governing board must incorporate innovation into the discussion today's issues come with no playbook to successfully lead the district through these trying times we require appropriate goal setting innovation and long range planning encouraging community involvement coupled with respectful
100dialogue and board transparency i feel we will overcome these hurdles i am passionate about creating the best district in arizona therefore i am confident i will make a big difference or a positive difference in the district i ask for your support and vote on november 3rd for the cave creek unified school district governing board thank you very much thank you candidate walker your response thank you everyone for your time this evening just want to close that i am a mother with four kids in the district and that instantly gives me a huge investment just not for my own children but for my whole community i believe in public education especially during a time like covid where there were many options and many people did leave i chose to stay here because i do believe in
101our district i believe in our teachers and i believe in this community i am creative decisive empathetic compassionate and flexible which i think are all important to have when sitting on a board we all want to invest in our students because they are the future i also want to see our students learn empathy compassion and our district also have equity i believe in uniting our district with our community whether that be through a community garden i'd like to see our stem programs actually work together with our local businesses and our fine arts center attracts a lot of community members that do not even have children in the district which i think is beautiful we are a model district for the state and we can can continue to do that as well and attract more students
102so that we can continue to grow our budget as well thank you and finally candidate wilson your response thank at the end of the day we all share the same goal it's clear the district has a tremendous amount of support from the candidates and we are fortunate to live in an enriched community that is also encouraging ccusd to thrive as a as a community we need to pull together aim high and strive for excellence we owe it to our children going the extra mile is what it takes to expand this district from good to prodigious as a governing board member i promise to represent the district to the best of my abilities and bring civility and allocate to the table looking forward i hope we can put our differences aside and move toward a common
103objective the pursuit of better schools for children once again if you are watching tonight i implore the individuals behind the negativity in the community to discontinue this toxic behavior in no way does the antagonism benefit or the wellness of our district or promote the positivity in the community on that note i'd like to thank you all for taking the time out of your day to join us this evening i'd also like to commend the candidates for their commitment if voted as a governing board member i will not let the district community or our children down thank you with that the evening comes to a close we are so glad that you could be here tonight thank you to our candidates for their participation and our staff and volunteers for helping put this event on have
104a great night